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Climate Change Increases Poor Air Quality

Use this interactive from Climate Central to see how climate change is affecting hazardous summer air conditions in cities across the United States. In the accompanying classroom activity, students analyze data from ten or more cities and create a graph comparing the increase in stagnant days. Students consider the broader implications of the increase in stagnant days, including a greater public health risk for respiratory ailments.

The handout Climate Change Increases Hazardous Air Conditions allows students to explore the data from the interactive. The worksheet Climate Change Increases Hazardous Air Conditions can be used to help the students create a bar graph. Alternatively, students can either create their own file in any graphing software, or draw a bar chart on a separate sheet of paper. If using the worksheet, the students can compare the initial bar graph with the one created with the additional five cities they looked up. If there is no access to an individual computer for each student, the handout can be used for a group activity. Increase the rows in the table and allow each student to select a city.

The resource Major Climate Zones in the United States | QUEST, can be used to compare the increase of stagnant summer days to climate zones. Alternatively, use a map of the U.S. and help the students assign typical weather conditions to the different cities.

(Grades 6 and up)

To make the worksheet more age appropriate, remove the filled in cities. Compare the cities with the most stagnant days to the levels of air pollution using this interactive from the World Health Organization. Then have students discuss whether the climate comparison or the air pollution comparison was more informative.

What is atmospheric pollution other than plumes rising from a factory or power plant? There are two types of atmospheric pollution – gaseous and particle – that can damage public health and the environment. Gaseous pollutants are gases, mostly produced from fossil fuel combustion, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. Many gaseous pollutants can also interact with other chemicals in the atmosphere to produce new damaging agents. For example, sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems and react with other chemicals to form acids. Those acids then mix with natural water vapor and create acid rain, which damages plants and soil. Particle pollution is small particles, like soot or dust, which are suspended in the air. Some particles, like smoke plumes emitted from a factory, are visible in the air, while others are tiny and can’t be seen. Most particle pollution is formed in the air by reactions between gaseous pollutants and other chemicals in the atmosphere. Other particles, like dust and soot, are emitted directly into the air from sources like construction sites or fires.

Atmospheric pollution is a major public health concern for its effects on respiratory problems, particularly in at risk populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals with lung conditions like asthma. For asthma patients, air pollution can trigger asthma attacks and reduce lung function. Air pollution can also lead to eye, nose and throat irritation, breathing difficulties, and increased risk of heart attack – even in otherwise healthy individuals. Long term exposure increases the risk of damage to the nervous system which can lead to strokes and cancer.

Atmospheric pollution can build up in the air, accumulating from safe to dangerous levels. Many weather conditions disperse air pollution. Heavy winds blow it away, while rain or snow wash it away. Wind and rain can’t get rid of the pollutants entirely. But by spreading the pollutants over a large area, the wind and rain prevent the pollutants from accumulating to dangerous levels. Other atmospheric conditions cause air to rise from the lower atmosphere, which is the air people breathe, to higher levels of the atmosphere. As the air rises, it pulls up pollutants. Without those conditions, air is stagnant and atmospheric pollution can accumulate.

Many atmospheric conditions can contribute to stagnant air. However, one of the most common causes of stagnant air are high pressure systems that occur in the summer. Those high pressure systems prevent wind and air from rising and dispersing atmospheric pollution. Climate change increases the amount of high pressure systems, leading to more days when individuals can be exposed to atmospheric pollution.

(Grades 4 and up) To incorporate this interactive in a lesson about asthma, the PBS Kids Arthur resources can be used to teach about asthma and its triggers. After using these resources, mention that there are other triggers like air pollutants, and transition to the interactive.

(Grades 6 and up) The EPA has a wonderful activity in which students make their own particle sensors to detect air pollution. Introduce the issue of air pollution and its consequences with this resource. Then create the sensor and measure air pollution in the school! The EPA also has nationwide data for air pollutants. Students can examine state and county summaries, or they can select particular source types. In the “Create a File by State or Source Type“ area, select ”Create HTML File“ in Step 5.

The interactive is generously provided by Climate Central. More information can be found at Stagnant Summer Days on the Rise in U.S. As an extension activity, have students read the associated article.

◊ Vocabulary Climate Change — the large-scale, long-term shift of Earth's weather patterns and average temperatures, particularly from the mid to late 20th century and onwards. This change results in part, from greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Atmospheric Pollution — harmful substances introduced into Earth’s atmosphere by human activity. Gaseous Pollution — gases, mostly produced from fossil fuel combustion, which can damage organisms and can interact with other chemicals in the atmosphere to produce new damaging agents. Particulate Pollution — small particles, like soot or dust, which are suspended in the air. Stagnant Air — air that stands still and is not moved by air currents or wind.